Second Italo-Ethiopian War

The Second Italo-Ethiopian War occurred from 3 October 1935 to May 1936 when Italy invaded and annexed the Ethiopian Empire into its East African possessions. The war was caused by a clash between the Royal Italian Army and Abyssinian forces in the border region of the Ogaden, and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini took advantage of this clash to dispatch reinforcements to Italian Eritrea and Italian Somaliland and invade Ethiopia. The poorly-equipped Ethiopians did not stand a chance against the Italians, who used tanks and aircraft against an enemy that was using outdated firearms. The Ethiopians were defeated in less than a year, and Italy annexed Ethiopia into its colonial empire. The war showed how ineffective the League of Nations really was, as it ignored Emperor Haile Selassie I's calls for assistance from the West.